DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. Engravings with etching,... Lot 7

DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. Engravings with etching, extracted from the edition of the "Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des observations et recherches faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand". Edition of 1000 copies on Vergé filigrané " Egypte ancienne et moderne " and offered to institutions. Imprimerie Impériale, Paris 1809-1829 71x53.5cm one sheet. The Description of Egypt is one of the masterpieces of the French edition and the starting point of a new science: Egyptology. A titanic exposition of Egypt at the time of Bonaparte's conquests between 1798 and 1799, it is divided into 23 volumes including 13 volumes of engravings bringing together nearly 1000 black and 72 colour plates. Three volumes of "Modern State" plates paint a striking portrait of Coptic and Islamic Egypt as it was seen by Bonaparte's armies of the East.